281 research outputs found
The emerging role of corporate information systems: An example from the area of business process-oriented learning
No full textEmerging business requirements, stemming from a holistic view over an organisation’s activities, place additional pressure on technical infrastructures and call for operational agility and a better alignment between business and technology. Business process oriented learning unites corporate training and business process management. Given the importance of an organisation’s human capital to business success, aligning individual training with business priorities, becomes a key challenge. The implementation of this new business service entails integrating learning into daily working tasks and putting in place mechanisms for the effective management of business processes, organisational roles, competencies and learning processes, to reduce the time to fill competency gaps and to build proficiency according to evolving business needs. In this paper we outline the main characteristics of this approach and provide insights regarding the changing role of the involved corporate information systems and the multiple aspects of the integration work
Structural and dynamic properties of translocase motor SecA:
No full textSecA is a large, 204 kDa, homodimeric, helicase-like protein that is a key component of the bacteria protein secretion machinery. SecA, being a motor protein, couples the translocation of polypeptide segments across or into biological membranes with the expenditure of metabolic energy extracted from ATP hydrolysis. SecA adopts a compact conformation in the cytoplasm but switches to a relaxed one when is engaged to translocation at the membrane. Specific interaction of SecA with SecYEG induces large conformational changes to both partners that result in the stimulation of SecA’s ATPase activity and trigger the opening of the channel.
We use a combination of NMR spectroscopy, Isothermal Titration Calorimetry (ITC) and biochemical techniques to characterize E. coli SecA along the protein secretion pathway. Recent advances in isotope labeling and NMR methodology (methyl-TROSY) enabled the NMR study of SecA.
We found that the nucleotide binding cleft of SecA exists in a metastable state that undergoes a disorder-order transition upon nucleotide binding. Our data show that SecA uses a novel mechanism wherein conserved regions lining the cleft undergo cycles of disorder-order transitions while switching among functional catalytic states. The structural relation of SecA to helicases suggests that these proteins may utilize similar mechanisms to convert the ATP binding/hydrolysis energy to mechanical work.
Our data reveal that C domain undergoes cycles of detachment and rebinding to the motor that are linked with the ATPase activation of SecA. When the contacts with the C domain are loosened, SecA becomes activated and this process is probably facilitated by the membrane. Moreover, allosteric communication between the preprotein binding and the motor domain of SecA is regulated by nucleotide and signal peptide binding. Finally, we found that the extreme C terminus of SecY (C6 loop) contacts both the motor and the C domain of SecA and we identified important residues from the loop C6 that mediate this interaction.
In summary, our studies revealed the intimate relation between flexibility and catalytic efficiency in SecA as well the allosteric communication among the domains.Ph.D.Includes bibliographical references (p. 131-144)by Dimitra Keramisano
Geolinguistic spaces and the geopolitics of organization studies: movements across centers and peripheries: European group for organisational studies colloquium
No full textAcademic knowledge production and evaluation has been studied as a phenomenon situated across global and (semi)peripheral contexts (Lillis and Curry, 2010; Bennett, 2014). The metaphor of scales draws attention to the study of academic discourses as practices that develop across vertical, hierarchically organized layers (Blommaert, 2010). In this paper, we draw on 3 sub-corpora of organization studies journal articles, with each journal occupying a different position in the impact factor continuum. Building on the work of Lillis and Curry (2010), we study networked activities as social capital in the global academic economy. In our analysis we first examine the epistemological profile of organisation studies, as reflected in differentially ranked journals located in European contexts. We then explore the complex configuration of spaces/localities within and around which the production of knowledge takes place, by examining networks of author affiliations in relation to the identified sites in the empirical papers included in the corpus. Finally, we examine how constructions of the ‘local’ and the ‘global’ relate to the themes foregrounded in the aims and scope of each journal and we explore how discourses of the ‘local’ and the ‘global’ relate to key concepts in the field of organization studies, including institutions, alternatives and resistance, as well as power and gender
Artificial Intelligence Policies for Higher Education: Manifesto for Critical Considerations and a Roadmap
No full textThis paper investigates the relationship between artificial intelligence (AI) technology and educational policy in higher education, highlighting key research and implementation. The paper focuses on critical considerations for AI policy development with a view to producing a roadmap focused on contextual higher education AI policies. The rapid development of AI presents both significant opportunities and challenges for higher education institutions in Europe and globally. As AI technologies become ubiquitous, integrated into teaching, learning, and administrative functions, it is essential to identify critical considerations at the core of the AI integration process, namely: (1) regulatory framework, (2) stakeholder-specific guidelines, (3) AIED research, and (4) AI literacy. As a starting point, the paper presents a review of existing AI policy frameworks within higher education, drawing on recent empirical research, identifying four design and implementation priorities for higher education stakeholders aiming to create responsible AI governance frameworks. As a result, we propose a roadmap designed to be used as strategic planning instrument for higher education stakeholders developing AI policies and guidance. In proposing a strategic roadmap for AI policy development, the work offers valuable insight into how higher education can effectively leverage the potential of AI whilst ensuring ethical considerations, equity, and maintaining academic integrity. Additionally, the paper contributes to the ongoing discourse regarding AI’s role in higher education in proposing research pathways that will benefit all stakeholders involved in the academic ecosystem
The Game of Success : Educational Strategies among Greek middle class parents in the education market of parapaedia
No full textThe selection process in tertiary education in Greece is characterized by a competitive and grade-oriented system that lays the foundations for the extensive use of private educational services. Family inclination towards private expenditure in education raises arguments for the conversion of public education into a private commodity. This thesis examines how a specific middle class group in an urban setting, the city of Larissa, deals with the system of private investments in upper secondary education. In particular, in the light of Bourdieusian concepts, this study attempts to analyse parental choice and strategies that families set in action for achieving educational success and the social advancement of their offspring, investigating also the role of education for middle class parents. 15 semi-structured interviews were carried out, delivering insightful narratives of parents who had experienced the national examination process. Interviews gave prominence to the unquestionable value of educational credentials for a successful educational and professional trajectory. For the accomplishment of quality education, parents deployed their cultural, economic, and social assets, which enabled them to be effective in the educational marketplace. Choice presented a complex task for parents, which presupposed an intensive devotion of time and energy. Accordingly, educational strategies started from the child’s early upbringing, being employed systematically at the upper secondary level of education. In fact, parental strategies appeared to be a “natural” process pertaining to responsible and caring parenthood. Parents took for granted that children should be satisfactorily equipped with valuable educational qualifications, which were seen as a necessity for a successful future, and an upward trajectory
The knowledge discovery cube framework : a reference framework for collaborative, information-driven pharmacovigilance.
No full textPharmacovigilance has attracted enormous attention over recent decades. At present, the increasing datafication combined with the growing knowledge elicitation capabilities of key technology innovations, present pharmacovigilance with enormous opportunities to improve its effectiveness and widen its scope. With change being a continuous process, for pharmacovigilance this represents an era of “Digital Darwinism”, during which new directions are opening fast and new challenges emerge, as to how the sector adapts in order to draw benefit. Current efforts and initiatives, aimed at addressing existing barriers and at enhancing the practical applications of new science and technology, are fragmented and disjoint, and thus are not adequate to provide an effective response to challenges. This research proposes a new paradigm for collaborative, information-driven innovation in pharmacovigilance and develops a Reference Framework, in order to (a) deepen the collective understanding of how a principled, collaborative and balanced medicines safety data ecosystem can be organised, (b) guide stakeholders towards the optimisation of pharmacovigilance and (c) provide useful reference points for the ongoing research and development process in the field. The Knowledge Discovery Cube (KDC) Framework provides the means for continual analysis, and for managing technology adoption in an informed and intentional manner. A variety of sources informed the research work. The resulting deliberations draw on the findings and conclusions of scholarly research, guidelines, policy documents and reports, and other resources from within and outside the field of health and life sciences, as well as on relevant theories. The developed framework was operationalised and validated in the context of vaccine safety monitoring
The right to childhoods : critical perspectives on rights, difference and knowledge in a transient world
No full textThis book offers an engaging study that analyses contemporary childhood by examining new lines of argument about diversity, disability and difference. The author critiques the key issues that affect both adults' and children's quality of life, including market-driven values, poverty and civic disengagement.In this fascinating study, Dimitra Hartas analyses contemporary childhood. She discusses the plurality inherent in childhood and the cultural, ideological, social and biological forces that shape children's experience of growing up in the 21st century. She engages with new lines of argument about diversity, disability and difference, and critiques the big issues that affect both adults' and children's quality of life such as market-driven values, poverty and civic disengagement.Hartas uncovers evidence of how the right to childhood is being violated in both the developed and developing world and how our consumerist culture is shaping children's lives in ways that are not always understood, and advocates the right to childhoods. She concludes by discussing the implications of her findings for both policy and practice in early childhood education, and examines pedagogies that are responsive to ethics, diversity and difference
Aligning Business And Learning: Competency Based Learning Management In Organisations
No full textThe value of human capital strongly influences competitiveness, making the alignment of training and business objectives a key priority for organisations in today’s turbulent markets. This entails integrating learning into daily working tasks and putting in place mechanisms for the effective management of business processes, organisational roles, competencies and learning processes, to reduce the time to fill competency gaps and to build proficiency according to evolving business needs. In this paper we discuss competency-based learning management and a practical implementation of this approach in the context of the PROLIX project for business process oriented learning
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